Lawyer Takes Clients Who Can't Afford Him

KISSIMMEE — Modesto Lopez believes many poor people would be locked out of the judicial system without free legal aid.

He wants to be the key that helps the needy gain entry to the courtroom.

Lopez, a lawyer with the Greater Orlando Area Legal Services, begins his first full week Monday in the agency's Osceola office. The agency provides free legal aid to the needy.

''I like helping people,'' said Lopez, who began work Wednesday and joins lawyer Richard Cato and paralegal Josey Rodriguez in the Legal Services office at 330 Oak St., Kissimmee.

''It's the opportunity to serve those who need assistance, those that wouldn't have other remedies available,'' Lopez said.

His position was created after Osceola County commissioners renewed a long-expired funding arrangement with Legal Services, said director Rick Culbertson.

The county agreed to earmark money being collected as part of court fees for Legal Services, which takes on the cases of about 50 new clients each month.

Legal Services provides help to the needy in Osceola, Orange and Lake counties.

Culbertson said there are at least 113,000 people in the three counties who are eligible for free legal services, and there are eight attorneys on the staff.

By contrast, there are 1,800 private attorneys in Orange County alone.

In Osceola County, more than 9,000 residents are eligible to receive free legal aid, Culbertson said.

Before Lopez's arrival last week, Cato was the only Legal Services lawyer assigned to Osceola County.

''It wasn't realistically possible for one attorney to handle all those needs,'' Culbertson said. ''With the second attorney, we'll be able to expand.''

Lopez, no stranger to legal services, is ready to jump into the caseload.

After graduating from law school at Catholic University in Puerto Rico in 1977, Lopez worked for a legal services agency there.

Three years later, he joined his father in the family's wholesale warehouse business where he worked until 1983, when he moved to Orlando.

''We used to come to the United States. It was always an adventure,'' he said with a laugh.

After working several jobs, Lopez decided to return to what he knew best: law. He passed The Florida Bar exam in July 1986 and began working at Legal Services in Orlando.

Lopez worked there until last August when he decided to try his hand at criminal law with the Seminole County State Attorney's office. He worked five months as a state prosecutor before rejoining Legal Services last week.

''I didn't like it,'' Lopez said of the prosecutor's job. ''I like civil law.''

Legal Services practices family law and represents victims of child or spouse abuse, Culbertson said.